The Edmonton Oilers fought the Avalanche, the officials, the thin air of Denver and several fallen defensemen last night, losing the final game of the marathon road trip. The team was badly outplayed during the final 40, my guess is much of the energy of the collective was used up during a five-minute PK, two of which saw the team two men down. The group saved the day on that PK but seemed wounded afterward, unable to gain traction. Adam Larsson’s getting a game misconduct combined with Kris Russell missing the heart of the game with an injury made it rather messy middle and late.
I don’t bitch much about officials, but that was a HUA game by the zebras and it ruined a damned good hockey game between two quality teams. The Oilers play Vancouver Saturday. What’s left of them.
THE ATHLETIC!
The Athletic Edmonton features a fabulous cluster of stories (some linked below, some on the site). Great perspective from a ridiculous group of writers and analysts. Proud to be part of The Athletic, less than two coffees a month offer here.
- New Jonathan Willis: Should the Oilers go short or long term on Ethan Bear’s next contract?
- Lowetide: The 2010s: Revisiting the Connor McDavid draft lottery — the day the earth stood still in Edmonton
- Jonathan Willis: The 2010s: Unveiling the Oilers all-decade team
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: The 2010s: What went wrong with Nail Yakupov? How the No. 1 pick became the decade’s biggest NHL draft bust
- Jonathan Willis: The 2010s: Ranking a decade’s worth of Oilers coaches
- Lowetide: Tyler Benson posting a strong November in hopes of an Oilers recall
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: A superstar shines, a goaltender stands tall and a ‘road hockey’ power play helps the Oilers return to form
- Lowetide: Why Dave Tippett’s deployment is a sign the Oilers need a No. 3 centre
- Jonathan Willis: A Jesse Puljujarvi trade is an opportunity of which only one NHL team gets to take advantage
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Leon Draisaitl takes the blame as the Oilers’ struggles against lowly foes continues
- Jonathan Willis: A list of which Oilers are most likely to be traded in 2019-20
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Q&A: Woodcroft on Benson’s ‘gift,’ the next step for Bouchard and acting like a proud parent watching the Oilers
- Lowetide: Oilers’ No. 2 prospect winter 2019: Philip Broberg
- Lowetide: Joel Persson’s demotion highlights difficult adjustment for Oilers’ ‘European showtime’ trio
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman and Jonathan Willis: Evaluating the Oilers’ readiness for the 2021 Seattle expansion draft
- Lowetide: Oilers’ No. 1 prospect winter 2019: Evan Bouchard
OILERS AFTER 27 GAMES
- Oilers in 2015: 10-15-2, 22 points; goal differential -13
- Oilers in 2016: 14-11-2, 30 points; goal differential +7
- Oilers in 2017: 11-14-2, 24 points; goal differential -12
- Oilers in 2018: 13-12-2, 28 points; goal differential -6
- Oilers in 2019: 16-8-3, 35 points; goal differential +10
Still miles ahead of the 2016 team, the Oilers have delivered relatively few truly poor games this season. There were two on this road trip (last night and Los Angeles) but for me last night’s game is one I’m going give them a little leeway (more than their coach) due to the officials.
OILERS IN NOVEMBER
- Oilers in November 2015: 4-7-2, 10 points; goal differential -9
- Oilers in November 2016: 5-6-2, 12 points; goal differential 0
- Oilers in November 2017: 5-7-1, 11 points; goal differential -3
- Oilers in November 2018: 5-7-1, 11 points; goal differential -9
- Oilers in November 2019: 7-4-2, 16 points, goal differential +5
One game left in the month and this year’s model is the clear champion. I had these Oilers pegged pretty well (per below) but have to say that watching them through this month I’m more impressed than the record might imply. The Oilers are good.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN NOVEMBER
- On the road to: PIT (Expected 0-1-0) (Actual 1-0-0)
- At home to: ARI, STL, NJD (Expected 2-1-0) (Actual 1-1-1)
- On the road to: ANA, SJS (Expected 1-0-1) (Actual 1-1-0)
- At home to: COL, DAL (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 1-0-1)
- On the road to: SJS, LAK, VEG, ARI, COL (Expected 2-3-0) (Actual 3-1-0)
- At home to: VAN (Expected 1-0-0)
- Overall expected result: 7-6-1, 15 points in 14 games
- Current results: 7-4-2, 16 points in 13 games
Oilers have the month covered but that last game offers a chance to ensure some Clearance Clarence entering December. Canucks have some real quality on that roster, it won’t be an easy game. All numbers NST, folks with the lines and pairings a jumble I’m going to resort to bullets and points if you don’t mind.
- Jujhar Khaira’s power move on the first goal was a thing of beauty. He also drew a penalty with a strong sortie up the middle. Now at five goals on the season. So happy the Oilers didn’t trade him.
- Adam Larsson’s suicide pass ended Alex Chiasson’s night. Then an unnecessary penalty (it wasn’t five minutes but it was an elbow) was a costly moment in the game. Edmonton defended it, but never did find the script afterward. There’s no way to blame Larsson for getting thrown out of the game, the call was farce. Still, whoever told him he could make stretch passes has to undo his mess. He doesn’t have that gear.
- Gaetan Haas to Patrick Russell created a great chance in the first period.
- Mikko Koskinen was brilliant in the first two periods, especially during the five on three. He was somewhat abandoned after the game got out of reach. Stopped 46 of 50, .920 and was the star of the game.
- Oscar Klefbom’s pinch that led to the winning goal was ill advised. He was dash 3. Absolutely a poor effort, important to also remember he’s Edmonton’s best defender and he is mentoring a rookie. These things matter. I saw some silly comments online about him last night, but you can’t light your best defenseman on fire because of a poor game. Oscar has been dreamy all season. Stuff happens.
- Connor McDavid had three HDSC but the top line came out second best against the MacKinnon trio. 97’s line had five HDSC’s and gave up the same number. Didn’t cash. As I mentioned with Klefbom, hammering your best players for not wandering through the holy land performing miracles on command is kind of silly. Teams don’t go 82-0. Don’t make me bring out that Casey Stengel line about 50-50-62 because you know I will!
- Kris Russell blocked two shots, one might have been while using his face to do it. Missed a portion of the game. When he was on the ice, he defended well.
- Ethan Bear and Caleb Jones both had rookie moments and those crisp outlet passes were replaced by icing and turnovers. A lot was asked and the two men lost a little bit of their composure but that’s part of the process. When Kevin Lowe was struggling as a rookie in fall 1979, Glen Sather said “if a guy is making the same mistakes over and over again, you’ve got to be concerned. But if he’s learning then you’ve got to be patient.” Both men had two giveaways at five on five to lead the team.
- Leon Draisaitl had a takeaway, a giveaway and struggled in the dot. It was a rare off night for him, and if I hear one negative word about him we’re having liver and cod liver oil for supper. No exceptions!
- Darnell Nurse picked up an assist, had a HDSC and was very physical. About the only criticism I have is his pass back to Bear when the youngster had been on the ice for approaching a minute thirty. Any option, including an icing, would have been better.
- Sam Gagner, coming off his best game of the season, struggled to have an impact in the game.
- James Neal, Riley Sheahan and Zack Kassian all had HDSC’s, none cashed but in Sheahan’s case he is getting closer to that first goal of the season.
- Josh Archibald has the heart of a lion. He never score a goal as an Oiler but the man is a game rooster.
OILERS 2019-20
Alex Chiasson, Kris Russell and Josh Archibald all have reason to miss a game based on last night’s visual. As each day passes without any word on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins my concern grows. Matt Benning is also out, no word recently on him.
CONDORS 2019-20
Condors got caved last night, they aren’t good defensively and the goaltending lacks experience and is having a tough time. It’s a walking advertisement for Ethan Bear, Caleb Jones and Shane Starrett, who were pillars of last year’s playoff team. This year’s Condors are well off the pace now, badly need Starrett to return. Bear and Jones took the Lido Shuffle to Edmonton and they’re not coming back.
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
At 10 this morning, TSN1260. We’ll be joined by Chris Meaney of The Athletic to talk NFL on Thanksgiving Thursday, and Frank Seravalli of TSN to talk about a massive week in news that shocked the hockey world.
Yeah a poster later linked to where to get it.
Lots of places here in Edmonton have it.
I will procure a bottle and report back.
Feathers is the best scotch place in Toronto, no question.
Yes and yes.
And as I’m reading through yesterday’s comments I was drawn to Shelter Point’s website. It looks like their whiskey is widely available in BC and Alberta, so you might be able to locate some locally (assuming you live in Edmonton). I’ll have to get my BC family to send me some.
LOL, quiet night for him.
Chiasson is in concussion protocol and won’t play this weekend.
I would also swap the wingers.
Neal and Chiasson are the slower group and would probably do better with Drai
Did you get his handedness right?
Did you post from your phone?
I agree you make that move if/when it presents itself.
But IMO there’s no urgency in moving Neal either. The buyout option is available going forward if you need it. If he keeps scoring I’d have no issue bringing him back next season. Nor the one after that if the goals are still going in. The buyout will be there if it’s needed even if there are no takers on a trade.
With Nuge out (and I apologize in advance if yesterday provided some clarity on his status, I haven’t read through the thread yet), does it make sense to split Connor and Leo? I was thinking about this:
Khaira – Draisaitl – Kassian
Neal – McDavid – Chiasson
Neal and Chaser seem to play well together, but I think they would benefit from the extra space McDavid gives them, as defenses don’t tend to stand up at the blue line against McDavid out of respect for his speed, yet they stand up against Chase and Neal all the time. I also might help McDavid to go deeper into the defensive zone on the back check knowing that he can catch his linemates on the ensuing rush. Also I’m thinking that the Draisaitl line will get harder minutes, leaving McDavid out against opponents 3rd lines more often.
Thoughts?
I was thinking about this yesterday while pondering potential lines with Nuge out. My first reaction was to call up Benson because I think he’s an upgrade over some of the NHL wingers, but upon further reflection I don’t think it makes sense to call him up unless all the NHL centers are healthy. If we’re going to try Benson at 2LW its IMPERATIVE that Nuge is healthy and playing well – and that the McDavid/Sheahan lines can take on the toughs. Otherwise you aren’t giving Benson a fair shot at acclimatizing to the league, we’ll end up disappointed and he’ll go back down with his confidence crushed.
Haha, I just edited my post because I realized I was getting him mixed up with Tim Connolly, who was born in Syracuse NY and is very much American.
ArmchairGM,
Connolly is American and as long as he makes his summer home in a tax-free state we could have structured his deal like Auston Matthews’: a $3M summertime bonus and then $750k salary during the season would be the same after tax money as Florida’s offer.
Connolly is Canadian.
From Campbell River, BC.
Pretty sure he lives there (or close) in off season as well.
Housing per square foot is more expensive in Edmonton on the whole.
Depends on where you live.
Day to day living expenses (food etc) are cheaper in Miami.
Not sure where Panthers players tend to live in regards to the greater Miami area.
They play and practice in Sunrise to I’d imagine most will be within an hour drive of there.
Probably live in and around Fort Lauderdale as opposed to Miami.
I’m on record as saying I would go as high as $4M x 4 for Connolly. In retrospect, though, I don’t think we would have needed to go that high, even for tax purposes – $3.75M would have been enough. If Connolly is a US citizen or green card holder and as long as he makes his summer home in a tax-free state we could have structured his deal like Auston Matthews’: a $3M summertime bonus and then $750k salary during the season would be the same after tax money as Florida’s offer.
In season or in summer, it really doesn’t matter.
You move Neal as soon as you find a taker.
This team desperately needs Tyler Benson to become an actual NHL player.
They way things are going, they might be pressured into bringing him into the line-up earlier than what I think they intend — somewhere about 20 games to give Jones time to establish himself. Longer if Jones takes longer.
I hope this is it for the injury bug though, and Nuge returns on schedule, so they can keep Benson farming until the latest rookie, Jones, can be fully assimilated.
But damn I hope Benson can tread water quick even if it’s just in the shallow end of the pool. Being able to add an NHL winger out of the farm would be so frickin useful.
McDavid and Sheahan should be providing an L2 with some clean air… I think at some point after New Years we will see Benson get his shot on it. Ideally the org knows something about his water treading ability before the trade deadline.
Re: Larsson and Neal
– would give Larsson more time but, without question, I am laying the seeds for a trade with my fellow GM’s
– Neal should be traded asap
The only downside of the team doing so well is that the dirty work of the rebuild is being put on hold in order to keep the players morale high and their psyche strong (that’s my opinion on that anyways).
This was brilliant OP, I nearly laughed myself off of my stool.
Well done, and grumpy’s response just made it all that much better.
Regarding Shelter Point, I totally agree. Some amazing liquid coming out there.
Oh, and they have a full list of who carries the product on their website, lots of Edm/Cal stores.
Edit: others noted already.
I agree with this. I’d maybe be remiss to move him in season but certainly in the summer.
you and james have something in common.
Three straight successful onside kicks (two that counted) in a row. I’ve never seen that in my lifetime. Absolutely unbelievable. That’s like back-to-back hole-in-ones.
I agree. We Love Neal mostly because he’s not Lucic.
I have watched him close thelast few years. Slow boots, Good Hands. Not.much 5×5 because guess what? He is an Aging Power Forward.
I like Neal and a so Happy he ishaving a Good season. But agree that IF Holland cannmove the contract this summer, he does before its too late.
DO YOU think Treliving can move Lucic now? Holland moved him just in the nick of time. Not comparing the players (Neal has always been better offensively); just saying if you can Move Neal’s $5 Mil and use it for a Sub 28 yr old …. I do that all fay Long
I think RNH is a PP wizard, probably as good as McDavid and Drai, but he’s only been gone two games and we’ve went one for two. We might miss him in the future, but a much bigger issue is the shitty reffing we continually have to endure. Two PPs in the last two games and seven PKs.
Woodguy v2.0,
Yes but what is the premium the overage person would pay to live in a Miami over Edmonton.
Yay!
Thanks for that.
2016-17 he was -10 on Nashville a team very much in plus
2017-18 he was -11 on Vegreville a team very much in plus
2018-19 he was – 5 on Calgary a team very much in the plus
2019-20 he is -14 on our team a team overall hovering -5 to +5
DSF cherry picks a lot of stats
This is not one of them
James Neal gives up a lot more than he creates 5v5
If we can move on from this player we need to move on
Heh
He gets paid in US$ wherever he is. All NHL contracts are in US$.
Florida State and Federal tax is 39%
Alberta Provincial and Federal tax is 48%
(I know players pay tax based on where games are played as well, but let’s ignore that for this exercise)
Take home in FLA is 2.14 so in order to take that home in EDM he’d need $4.12
Captain Horvat has been playing very tough minutes because Brandon Sutter and Jay Beagle are injured.
James Neal just sucks moose dick.
You’ve mentioned the goaltending several times, and fair enough, there’s no doubt in my mind that Starrett would out perform Skinner and Wells and the team would be better off if he was playing
But the Condors aren’t scoring many goals. Near the bottom of the league in GF. I am surprised that guys like Marody and Gambardella haven’t been putting up more numbers. Yamamoto’s production dropped right off before he got hurt. I even expected more of a step from Benson, although he seems to be coming on a bit.
If you can only give up 2 goals a game or you lose, not many goalies are going to fare well in that situation. Need to find some offence
Captain Horvat is -10 on a team that is plus 6.
James Neal is -7 at 5 on 5.
The Oilers are -1 at 5 on 5.
Nope, not great but your cherry-picked stats are intentionally dishonest.
Someone should tell Matt Ryan it’s Thanksgiving, not Christmas.
As for Larsson I’m concerned about him. He has more than he shows on the Oilers. I’m not sure why of course, but something is off and has been for a while, beyond his disrupted season start. Hopefully Holland reads him correctly, might be time for a change of venues for him and the team.
Harpers Hair,
People will post that some of this is due to empty net numbers
But we all knew that Neal is a terrible 5v5 player for the last 3 years
It’s a good thing the one thing that he is good at (Ricki box attack) is the one thing we need
Yeah would move him if I could
But getting rid of Lucic was a huge move forward
Good points.
Kelfbom is the best overall D, but not a top 10 in quality. Could be worse as it was in the past.
Chaisson and Gagner aren’t NHL regulars anymore. Gagner was never more than marginal but could keep his head above water with points. Not now.
Neal isn’t either because he’s useless in the largest and hardest part of the game.
I hope Holland can clean slow players out and get more helpful players, but I have the feeling we’ll finish as it started and see where it goes in the summer.
I thought we might see some movement after 20 games, but I wonder now, partly cap, partly for stability and building trust. He’ll give the established players this season to prove what they are worth to the team.
who,
I would say Larsson is a pretty good passer
But he chooses to not pass well majority of the time
We should trade him whenever we get a decent offer
And given how slowly it t takes some of the old boys club in the league it takes to move forward I would think he still has good value
James Neal is-14 on team that is +9 in goal differential.
who,
Nuge is a witch. That is all.
I too am in the give Larsson a chance to get up to speed camp. He’s a valuable player, and the team is better when he’s playing at or near his potential.
Any Neal trade would likely be a summer deal. Use the season and (hopefully) playoffs to pump his tires.
Klefbom was probably suffering from fatigue. Being down to four d-men for so long was never going to end well. He’ll bounce back.
Couple of thoughts on topics from this thread.
1. The Larsson pass was not a suicide pass. All Chiasson has to do is keep skating across the ice and just tip the puck in deep. He made it a suicide pass by turning up ice, right into his blind spot, as he received the pass. This is the same move that Gryba destroyed Lars Eller on back when Gryba played for the Senators. Takeaway message is get control of the puck before you turn into traffic.
2. Powerplay really misses Nuge. What makes the Oilers PP so special is the 3 guys across the middle of the ozone. 3 guys with great hands and vision allows for quick, skilled puck movement.
3. Let’s give Larsson at least till New Years to get back in the groove. Can’t believe how many people want to trade him after 4 games. Assuming Bear is legit, who else plays RD in the top 4? Jones? Russell? Benning? None of these guys look any better than Larrson right now, nevermind in a month.
4. We should absolutey trade Neal, whenever the opportunity arises. He is a below average NHL forward making 5.75 million. I would even retain 1.5 million if needed. That 4.25 would have got us Connelly or Burakowsky last summer.
5. Klefbom does a lot of good things out there but his decisions on the pinch are regularly puzzling. You could argue that Gagner could have read the pinch and dropped back on the 1st goal, but the pinch on the 2nd goal was horrible. He had no chance of getting to that puck first, or even making it close.
Got a bottle of Willett pot still reserve Kentucky bourbon for early Xmas gift
Not too shabby
Oilin4,
Thanks for the heads up, I’m just catching up and missed this – and THANK YOU Wonder Llama for an all-time great post.
Check out the Shelter Point website for places that sell their great whisky.
https://shelterpoint.ca/where-to-buy/
No word and any world likely happens Saturday (maybe tomorrow) – every cap penny accumulated and banked will be needed if the team is looking to improve externally at any point during the year.
With that said, and partially for that reason, I don’t think we’ll see a recall for Saturday. Nygard will take Chisson’s spot in the lineup (either at 2LW or at 3LW with Khaira moving up).
We’ll know if Benson doesn’t play tomorrow night.
I think, at this point, we (he) is in the clear.
The report on a hearing was posted by The Score but taken down shortly thereafter.
I really hope Larsson is able to get up to speed and regain his top end form that we know he has.
That player, the great zone entry defender, the great cycle breaker, the absolute pain in the ass to play against, the solid PK guy – that guy is a valuable player, even in today’s changing game.
Also, Larsson seems like a great dude and he took his performance last year really hard – he cares and he wants to help the team win.
I’m cheering for him.
Yeah Lavoie he’s my Glenn Anderson throw back. Any news on call-ups we dearly need a split against a leaky but hungry Canuck team. Every team goes through injuries we need the posse to step up and contribute, you know Travis will have a shadow on Connor. Just a wild guess but I say the procedure on Nuge was some sort of a cortisone shot.
Appreciate that.
If Larsson is given any discipline for that play it can go into the cannon of actions by the league against the Oilers.
He absolutely should have kept his elbow down, but after rewatching the play it seems to me that it was a defensive reaction.
Chiasson is on the ice after a big hit, a player is coming toward him. He had both hands on his stick and turned away from the player minimizing contact which is why there was no injury.
Completely inconsistent as we expect from the league with the worst game quality management in the western world.
It’s time to not be subjective anymore. Same rules, every game, all the time. I don’t buy that it cannot be done, even if not perfect. But a lot better than it is.
Halfwise,
I’d love to move to the island. Sadly UVic wasn’t interested in my services when a vacancy opened up there. I’d move that way in a heartbeat if an opportunity presented itself
you’ll be among the first people I reach out to once those plans solidify. I’d really enjoy that.
Oh yes, a few times. It is very good and I’m always happy to have a.dram or two there. But if you find your way here again, Feathers Pub is even better. Lots of very old and seemingly unobtainable things, competitively priced. I had no idea it even existed until a couple months ago, but apparently it’s been around for decades.
I’m being very sincere when I say this, I enjoy how you go from 0-60 in a sentence or less.
Will take another run up there next week and will ask them where their product is available and will let you know.